Telescope Reviews: Who wants to help a dolt with astrophotography?

“I've read that polar aligning the scope for AP is better than ALT-AZ alignment. So how do I do it? Do I just tilt the tripod plate to 41* (NYC, where I live)?”

Yes, you’ll want to tilt the tripod plate to 41 degrees and point the az axis (called the R.A. or polar axis when in polar mode) at the North Star.

“Why does the meade website show the scope pointing straight to polaris from there - how are you supposed to attach the DSI if the backplate of the scope is against the baseplate of the mount (as seen on pg. 52 of the manual, fig. 49)?”

This is the home position when the telescope is in polar mode. You’ll want to leave the camera off when the back of the telescope is between the tines of the fork or use the visual port.

“Which leg of the tripod faces north, the one with the ALT bar? Or does that point south?”

It usually doesn’t matter where the legs point as long as the polar axis is pointing at the North Star. I’m not familiar with this specific tripod though. Regardless, the idea is to have the polar axis pointing north.

”So, let's say I have the scope on the tripod and it's tilted to 41*. I have the DSI/focal reducer in the rear port. I have that connected to a laptop running the included software. If I have the scope trained (or whatever it's called) can I use the laptop to tell it what DSO I want to image and will it go there?”

Yes. You can use the hand controller if you wish, but I use the Remote Handbox function in Autostar Suite.

Imaging is a lot of fun and learning it is a long process, so start slow and enjoy the journey. Since you mentioned you’re observing from a light polluted site and you hope the camera will help you se more I’d start there. I’m also observing under light polluted skies and the DSI Pro is a great tool for enhancing your observing and cutting through light pollution. I’d suggest starting by setting the color filters aside and operating your camera as a monochrome imager. In this mode it’s very sensitive and easy to operate. Later you can learn how to add color to your images.

Before trying to image you’ll want to get familiar with your telescope as you will want it to track the sky and you’ll want to be able to use its slow motion controls to make fine adjustments. If you’re not comfortable with using the polar mode you don’t have to; I used an altaz mount (a Meade DS-2130) for the first year or so with my DSI and it works fine in this mode. However, you will need to learn how to calibrate your motors and train your drives so the tracking works well.

As for the camera, again, I’d suggest using it as a monochrome imager at first. To do this remove the filter slide and set it aside and cover the holes in the slide mount (black foam sheet from an art store works well). Yu might also consider buying a low profile face plate from ScopeStuff. They’re about $30 and it replace the filter slide making your camera light-tight and lightweight. You will want to use the IR filter screwed into the nosepiece. To really cut through light pollution you may also ant to use a broadband light pollution filter from Orion. I’ve found this filter (together with the IR filter) to be very effective.

As for imaging, start simple. Easy targets include just about any bright star (Mizar and Alcor are neat t look at) or the Orion Nebula. Also, if the rear camera port is causing you problems just use the visual port, you can switch to the camera port later as you gain experience.

I hope you find imaging an enjoyable pass time and I think you will find it will open a whole new window on the night sky from your back yard.

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-John
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Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I, II, & III), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors